'Obvious price gouging' on food prices in Nain, says MHA

Costs of groceries, other essentials have sparked protests

Torngat Mountains Liberal MHA Randy Edmunds says he was shocked to see prices in the Nain store. (CBC)

Matt McCannCBC News

Matt McCann produces and co-hosts CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.

The MHA for northern Labrador says the cost of food in the region, particularly in Nain, is "obvious price gouging."

That comment from Randy Edmunds comes on the heels of a protest earlier this week outside the community's Northern store, during a visit by Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball.

"It was appalling to see the difference in prices, and the extreme cost," said Edmunds, who was with Ball when demonstrators confronted the premier.

"I can appreciate the people in Nain having as much concern as they do because it is overwhelming."

Pictures making the rounds on social media sites show shelves stocked with $7 cans of soup, $16 bottles of liquid dish detergent, and $11 for a package of spaghetti noodles.

Many people have taken to social media to voice their struggle to afford food in Labrador's north. (Lindsey Moorhouse/Facebook)

People living in Labrador's Inuit communities have said they already struggle to feed themselves and their families.

In Nain and Hopedale, more than 80 per cent of households are dealing with food insecurity in some form, including people skipping meals, or sometimes going full days without eating because they can't afford food.

The program gives retailers money to offset the high cost of shipping to remote parts of the North, but a 2014 report by Auditor General of Canada Michael Ferguson noted merchants are not required to report their profit margins, leaving shoppers skeptical they're seeing any benefits.